Texana Thursday: Some Thoughts about Hurricane Harvey

The Lone Star flag continues to fly over Texas, national disasters or not (Creative Commons license attribution, photo courtesy Matt Turner)

Hurricane Harvey has finally fled Texas after causing a catastrophic loss of life and property damage. Good riddance!

(And, I want to quickly add, our thoughts and prayers are with our friends and neighbors in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Texas didn’t want or deserve this hurricane; nobody does.)

Harvey’s aftereffects remain, of course. The rebuilding effort is underway, but it has only just begun. There’s lots of work ahead for everyone. It won’t be easy.

Hurricanes are strong, and it’s true that Harvey showed us his worst. But Texans are stronger, and all one has to do is look around to see them at their best.

The stories are inspiring, not just locally, but to folks far away from Texas.

A case in point: Today I interviewed the executive director of Katy Christian Ministries, a local ministry group, and she told me of how one donor made an online contribution from Sweden—over 5,000 miles away from the Houston area.

If you’re from out of state and want to contribute, a number of organizations are working to raise money for relief efforts. In addition to Katy Christian Ministries, cited above, some others include:

• The American Red Cross.
• The Greater Houston Community Founcation.
• The JJ Watt foundation, set up by the popular Houston Texans football player.

Volunteering also makes a big difference. People have generously donated cleaning supplies, clothing, food, health and beauty aids, and other necessities. Organizing and distributing these things is a big-time job. Some from out of the area are making the trek here to help. In many cases, they’re bringing their boats to help with the rescues.

Reach out to your local church or favorite charity to see how you can get involved.

This is not the first hurricane we’ve seen in Texas, nor will it be the last. Hurricanes are a reality of life on the Gulf Coast (and not just the Texas Gulf Coast, to be sure.) An exercise such as this, difficult as it might be, brings out the best in people.

Get involved, and be a part of it.